The smaller at-home eBay seller often hits a sales plateau because one (or two) people can only accomplish so much in a day. An eBay business involves time-consuming processes of cleaning items, photographing items, listing items, shipping, answering customer questions, ordering supplies, and other tasks that must be done daily. One way to scale an at-home eBay business, sell more, and make more money is to hire help. Many sellers are at a loss of how to hire employees, since their eBay business may be their first attempt at an entrepreneurial venture. Here are three tips to consider when hiring helpers for an at-home eBay business.

1. Check with local colleges, community colleges, or universities about internship programs. College juniors are often best suited for helping with an eBay business because they are more mature than freshmen and sophomores, they need the money, and they are committed to finishing school so they may stay on as an employee until they graduate.

2. Strive to hire English majors with photography experience – but either or will certainly do. English majors will have a better grasp of the English language and be able to write better listing descriptions. Having misspelled words, text language, or poor grammar on a listing won’t help sales. Applicants with photography experience will be able to jump in and take and edit photos without much training. Be careful not to hire an OCD photographer who is too meticulous – they make take too long doing the job.

3. Check applicants’ Facebook pages. Do they appear to have common sense? Do they look responsible? Do they have incriminating photos or unflattering posts on their pages? Most major companies look up applicants on Facebook for this very reason – to get a glimpse into someone’s personal life.

Learning which tasks to outsource is a big part of running an eBay business smoothly. An attentive, eager, punctual, and conscientious employee who is willing to learn is better than an expert who doesn’t show up for work or who can’t take direction. Most parts of the eBay business can be learned over time and finding a long-term employee is the best goal when searching for a helper.

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Suzanne Wells has been a full time online seller working out of her home since 2003. Since that time, she has sold over 20,000 items globally on eBay. She has a BA in Business Administration and runs several other successful online businesses. Visit her site at SuzanneAWells.com.